Common virus linked to children's partial paralysis

April 1, 2015 10:28 AM

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At the end of last summer a common respiratory virus known as enterovirus D68 began to make the rounds in the U.S., landing more than 1,000 children in hospitals. As the outbreak picked up steam, physicians began to notice an alarming trend. Some children diagnosed with enterovirus D68 also developed sudden partial paralysis.

Medical experts have been slow to link this symptom directly to the virus until tests and research prove that there actually is a connection. But a new genetic analysis published Monday in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases indicates that the illness may actually be caused by a mutated strain of...